Virginia politics and more

Tag Archives: spring in Virginia

What was blooming in the yard today? After two nights with 30-degree overnight temps which required covering tender plants and flowers with plastic, everything not only survived but seemed to thrive in today’s sunshine and temps in the mid-60s. Purple salvia continues to bloom into its second week while the pink and white peonies blossomed under the hothouse-like plastic.

My yard is in bloom including this vintage iris grown by my grandmother, aunts, and mother. As I moved throughout the years, it moved with me. #Family

The red hot pokers are a smorgasbord for the plentiful goldfinches. These came from my mom. Heirloom plants are a connection through the years with family members who may no longer be with us, an annual reminder of those before us who loved to be in the garden. Memories are in the flowers around me….

For those who don’t like winter, rejoice! It silently crept in just past midnight, the earliest spring in 120 years. It’s the way they figure these things, and it’s only by hours that makes it the earliest in so long, but the method is fascinating, nonetheless:

The reason why goes back to Pope Gregory XIII, who created the Gregorian calendar in 1582, according to the website EarthSky. Each year on Earth lasts 365.242 days, and the existing calendar in Gregory’s time accounted for this fraction of a day by having most years be 365 days long, with leap years every four years, where were 366 days long.

But under this system, with one extra day every four years, the average length of a year was 365.25 days — still a hair longer than the actual length of a year.

And so Pope Gregory XIII declared that years ending in “00” should not be leap years unless they’re also divisible by 400, EarthSky reported. That means that the year 2000 was a leap year, but the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not, and 2100 won’t be either.

The weather is perfect today in the Shenandoah Valley — the sun is out, the sky is blue, and the temps will be around 75 degrees — for the Greater Augusta Garden Club and the Garden Club of Virginia’s Staunton and Augusta County House and Garden Tour. Taking place from 10am until 5pm, the cost is $30 per person and tickets can be purchased at any of the tour locations.